The End of an Era?

I guess not having a job at the moment has kept me more occupied than I would of thought. At the same time, this is my first summer "vacation" since high school, which was 10 years ago, so although I'm looking hard, I'm also not going to stress myself out about it and enjoy this time.

There are several things in my life that I consider to be my "Guilty Pleasures", whether it be a favorite food, activity, place, etc. which I'll explore on numerous occasions such as today.

This week one of my guilty pleasures will mark the end of something that I have enjoyed for the last few years, or on the other hand, it could possibly mark the beginning?........

..........I speaking of course about Harry Potter!!!

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm probably one of a few people that would actually admit to being a fan, but I am. So what? I didn't even find myself enjoying the many characters that JK Rowling introduced to the world in the late 90's until two summers ago. This is when I decided to see what all the hype was about and read the books that had been made into the movies that were just as popular. This was around the time that the 6th book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince made its debut. So not only did I have to read the 5 previous books, but then the 6th. I was totally taken aback about how much the books were enjoyable. I mean I love to read, but reading that many in less than a month had to be a record even for me. And since that time I have seen the movies thus far too many times to keep track. Hell, some of you can quote The Color Purple by heart, so I can do the same with the series.

So this month is marking the culmination of the series, with the movie release of book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week and then the 7th and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows coming out this Saturday at midnight. For one I have always enjoyed the movie versions, of course there are things taken out due to time restrictions, but they flow easily without the loss of the main plot. This latest installment did not disappoint and I hope to see it again real soon. And I also have to admit that I will be in line at midnight to pick up the final book, to see how everything turns out in the end for these characters that we have watched grow up in front of our eyes, in the pages of fiction as well as on the big screen.

So when I say it's an end of an era, because once I've read the fates of these characters that will be it right? But then again I say maybe not, because the last two movies won't be released until 2008 and 2009. Not to mention that a theme park will be opening in honor of this fictional world in late 2009 as well. So who knows where that will take the many fans that have grown to enjoy such a multi dimensional character. All I can say is I've enjoyed the ride, and I hope to continue thru the very end.